A unique blog dedicated to covering the worlds of book publishing and the news media, revealing creative ideas, practical strategies, interesting stories, and provocative opinions. Along the way, discover savvy but entertaining insights on book marketing, public relations, branding, and advertising from a veteran of two decades in the industry of book publishing publicity and marketing.

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Wednesday, May 21, 2014

You Can’t Minimalize Book PR

Because writers are short on budget and
time, and generally lack a desire to actively promote their book, I am often
asked: What’s the priority or one thing I have to do?

It’s akin to asking Congress to make
budget cuts – do we decrease funding schools, hospitals, police, or Social
Security? Is there a service we can eliminate?

There are a few schools of thought on
what authors HAVE to do vs. SHOULD vs. OPTIONAL. It depends on how successful
you want your book to be, as well as how many resources you are prepared to
devote to it. It also depends on how good the book is and whether or not it is
truly promotable.

One can only start from the ideal and
work their way down. First, assume the book’s great. Second, act as if you had
an unlimited budget of money and time. List all of the things one could
possibly do to promote the book. Then start to get realistic. Cross off the
most expensive items or the time-consuming tasks. Look for the sweet spot – the
things you can do with minimal risk or investment that have a potentially large
payoff. But don’t ignore the low-hanging fruit and the things that should work
with some effort behind it.

Look at your PR and marketing like a
financial portfolio. Diversify. How much of your resources are invested in:

One can easily spend $50,000 to promote,
market, and advertise a book properly – and still not get to do everything. One
can spend far less – but get a smaller return by far. There’s no formula for
every dollar spent; that you will sell x copies of your book or get x amounts of
followers online. But generally, when you spend your time and money wisely,
there is a certain level of return for it.

There’s no easy answer to say what
should minimally be done for a book. One has to think about who their ideal
reader is, ponder how to locate and reach them, and then compare options.
Usually one has to try five or ten things in order to find the optimum way to
generate book sales, fans and connections.

I do know, however, that you can’t rely
on just one thing to get you everything. Social media by itself or bookstore
signings alone or sending review copies to book review editors by themselves
won’t get you over the top. By combining different approaches, you increase
your chance for success. Instead of thinking about doing the minimum, explore
how you can do more.

About Me

Brian Feinblum, the creator and author of BookMarketingBuzzBlog, is the chief marketing officer for the nation's largest book promotions firm, Media Connect (www.Media-Connect.com), formerly Planned Television Arts, and has been involved in book publicity and marketing since 1989. He has served several book publishing companies as a publicist, book editor, and acquisitions editor. Brian, who earned a BA in English from Brooklyn College, became a published author in 1995 when he penned The Florida Homeowner, Condo and Co-Op Handbook. He resides in Westchester, New York with his wife, two young children, and an English Bulldog.